Yesterday California's Attorney General, Edmund G. Brown Jr., announced a lawsuit against YourTravelBiz.com (YTB) for being a "gigantic pyramid scheme." He says that the multi-level marketing company recruited tens of thousands of members with false earnings claims.

YTB was supposed to a business through which members could operate online travel agencies. In reality, it was nothing more than a pyramid scheme meant to make those at the top rich, while thousands of people below them lost a lot of money. The operation is accused of being a pyramid scheme because the members were paid for recruiting new members, regardless of whether they sold any travel services.

Members pay $450 to join the scheme, and a monthly fee of $50 to stay active. In 2007, it is alleged that there were over 200,000 members, and that only 38% of them made any money from selling travel services. The median income for those making commission on travel services was only $39. (You read that correctly... not even enough made all year to pay for one month of fees!)